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\u201cThe Shield ‘changed TV with its main character an antihero and continuing story.’\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014 Stephen King, Author<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n
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The takeaway<\/h2>\n
King’s comments reignite the long-standing debate over the relative influence and legacy of two of the most acclaimed and groundbreaking television dramas of the early 2000s. While The Sopranos is widely regarded as a landmark series that ushered in a new era of prestige TV, The Shield may have had an even more profound impact by normalizing the idea of a morally ambiguous, antihero cop as the central character of a major television drama.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n